The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast

As a life-long reader, English teacher Dan Tricarico wanted to bring the love of reading to his high school students, but the constant, irresistible presence of digital media made for tough competition. Rather than seeking out a high-tech solution, he brought back simplicity in the form of daily silent reading, and to his surprise, most of his students really took to it. In this episode, he shares his experience in the hopes that more teachers will resurrect this classic practice in their own classrooms.  Thanks to Alpaca and the School Me Podcast for sponsoring this episode. To read Dan's guest post and find links to his books, visit cultofpedagogy.com/silent-reading.

Transcribed - Published: 22 June 2025

Although most teachers understand that not all students have the same home life, sometimes we forget how big those differences can really be, and how humiliating it can be for a student to be asked to publicly share details about their lives outside of school. In this EduTip we'll talk about some situations where this comes up, and what you can do to prevent it from happening.  ------------------- Thanks to Studyo for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips.

Transcribed - Published: 15 June 2025

Most special education efforts have focused on giving students with disabilities better access to the curriculum — but access alone isn’t enough. In this episode, I talk with Amy Tondreau and Laurie Rabinowitz, authors of the book Sustaining Cultural and Disability Identities in the Literacy Classroom, about disability-sustaining pedagogy, a framework that helps students embrace disability as a cultural identity. We explore practical ways teachers can make their classrooms more inclusive, empowering, and identity-affirming for disabled students. Thanks to Alpaca and the School Me Podcast for sponsoring this episode. To read a full transcript of this episode and find links to related resources, visit cultofpedagogy.com/disability-sustaining.

Transcribed - Published: 8 June 2025

If you want to have the kind of classroom where students do more than just sit and listen, it's likely that your plans may include activities that require some social risk-taking. One way to help your students get more comfortable taking these small social risks is for you to be the first dork, the first one to do the thing that no one else wants to do because they’re afraid of looking weird or being vulnerable.  ------------------- Thanks to Studyo for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips.

Transcribed - Published: 1 June 2025

While the shift to restorative practices should be improving student behavior, that's not happening in every school. Some teachers say the discipline systems at their schools have completely broken down, creating an environment where students do whatever they want with no consequences. This has made teachers feel frustrated, angry, unsupported, and in some cases, unsafe. What has gone wrong? In this episode, I have an in-depth conversation about this issue with restorative justice educator bink jones and trauma-informed educator Alex Shevrin Venet. Both educators are well aware that restorative practices are getting a bad rap for all the wrong reasons, they unequivocally validate the frustrations teachers are experiencing, and they explain what they think is going wrong in schools that aren't seeing good results from this framework. They offer a path forward for educators who are desperate for a healthy, respectful, productive climate in their schools. Thanks to ExploreLearning and Listenwise for sponsoring this episode. To read a full transcript of this episode and find links to related resources, visit cultofpedagogy.com/discipline-reform.

Transcribed - Published: 27 May 2025

If I give my students an exit slip to check their grasp of a particular skill, and a third of them don’t do well, just moving forward with my original teaching plan is a missed opportunity. Ideally, my next steps should involve some kind of targeted response. Let's talk about what that looks like. ------------------- Thanks to Studyo for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips.

Transcribed - Published: 18 May 2025

Since ChatGPT's arrival in late 2022, the top concern I’ve heard from teachers is that students will stop doing their own writing and rely entirely on AI. While that worry is real, more teachers are recognizing that AI is here to stay and are looking for ways to work with it rather than against it. My guest today, Tony Frontier, offers one of the most insightful takes I’ve seen on this issue. In his new book AI With Intention and in our conversation, he shares clear, practical strategies for helping students use AI responsibly and maintain academic integrity. Thanks to ExploreLearning and Listenwise for sponsoring this episode. To read a full transcript of this episode and find links to more retrieval practice resources, visit cultofpedagogy.com/ai-integrity.

Transcribed - Published: 11 May 2025

Lots of teachers give students some kind of questionnaire at the beginning of a school year to get to know them, but what do you do with that information after you get it? By putting responses into a spreadsheet, you'll have a relationship-building tool you can use all year. ------------------- Thanks to Studyo for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips.

Transcribed - Published: 4 May 2025

Retrieval practice is the act of trying to recall something you learned from memory by doing things like taking a test or using flashcards instead of just looking at, rereading, or reviewing the information. When we study with retrieval, we learn and remember things much better than we do by other review methods. So how do we add more to our classrooms? In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Pooja Agarwal, editor of the book Smart Teaching Stronger Learning, and two of the book's authors, Dr. Janell Blunt and Dr. Michelle Rivers, to learn nine simple, easy, and fun retrieval strategies that can be added to any lesson. Thanks to Zearn and EVERFI for sponsoring this episode. To read a full transcript of this episode and find links to more retrieval practice resources, visit cultofpedagogy.com/retrieval-in-action.

Transcribed - Published: 27 April 2025

We talk a lot about differentiating instruction, measuring growth, and preparing students for the real world, but how do you actually do that in a system still driven by grades? Maybe you need a new model altogether. In this episode, we're exploring an approach to school called competency-based learning. I’m joined by three educators — Susie Bell, Heather Messer, and Beth Blankenship — who show us what this model actually looks like in classrooms. They share real teaching examples, how they assess growth over time, and how the Mastery Transcript Consortium supports this work. Thanks to Zearn and EVERFI for sponsoring this episode. To read a full transcript of this episode and get more resources on competency-based learning, visit cultofpedagogy.com/competency-based-learning.

Transcribed - Published: 13 April 2025

Grammar has never been an especially popular area of study, and teaching it has frustrated many English teachers throughout time. It seems like no matter how hard we try, the concepts just don't stick as well as we'd like them to. In this episode, I'm talking to Matthew Johnson, author of the new book Good Grammar: Joyful and Affirming Language Lessons That Work for More Students, about some truly fresh approaches he takes to grammar instruction (I definitely never tried them!). They have worked so well that his students now say grammar is their favorite part of his class — definitely worth a listen!  Thanks to Zearn and EVERFI for sponsoring this episode. And to learn more about Grammar Gap Fillers, go to cultofpedagogy.com/grammar. To read Matt's article and get links to his book, visit cultofpedagogy.com/grammar-stinks/.

Transcribed - Published: 30 March 2025

Research shows that adding physical or hand gestures to a learning experience, especially ones that have some meaning to them, can significantly boost how well students understand and remember the content.  ------------------- Thanks to Class Composer for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips.

Transcribed - Published: 23 March 2025

This episode is for everyone and anyone. In it, I'll share five techniques that will encourage any person you’re talking to to go a little more in-depth, share a little bit more, and most importantly, feel seen, heard, and understood.  Thanks to Boclips Classroom and EVERFI for sponsoring this episode. For a written version of this episode, visit cultofpedagogy.com/listening-skills.

Transcribed - Published: 16 March 2025

If you're doing an activity that requires students or participants to volunteer to participate, this is a fun way to choose them. ------------------- Thanks to Class Composer for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips.

Transcribed - Published: 9 March 2025

Recent executive orders have launched an attack on teaching for diversity, equity, and inclusion. How do you teach at this precarious time in history when so much work has been done to weave these values into so many of our materials and practices? The more I think about it, the more I think you may not have to change as much as it might seem. When I look over the years of articles and podcast episodes I have done in the service of supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion, so many of the practices I've had the privilege to share would never get flagged by these directives. I thought it might be helpful for me to curate some of the most important teaching recommendations that have come through my platform for addressing inequities in schools. Thanks to Listenwise for sponsoring this episode. For links to all the resources mentioned in this episode, visit cultofpedagogy.com/dei-under-attack.

Transcribed - Published: 6 March 2025

You can create the most spectacular lesson plans, but if all of your students aren't in the room when those plans are executed, catching them up can be kind of a nightmare. And despite the fact that this has been a problem for generations, few teachers have ever figured out a foolproof plan for solving it. My guest today has an approach that can help. Robert Barnett is co-founder of the Modern Classrooms Project and the author of a new book, Meet Every Learner's Needs: Redesigning Instruction So All Learners Can Succeed. In this episode, Rob is going to explain how his approach, which ultimately evolved into the framework Modern Classrooms uses, helped him solve the problem of student absences in his own classroom. And he'll show us how any teacher can get started with it in a very simple way. Thanks to Boclips Classroom and Zearn for sponsoring this episode. To read a full transcript of this episode and get links to Robert's book, visit cultofpedagogy.com/absent-students.

Transcribed - Published: 2 March 2025

One of the best-kept secrets in teaching is that frequent quizzing leads to better learning. If you can incorporate more ungraded or low-stakes quizzes into your instruction, there's a good chance your students will start remembering more of what they're learning. Learn about the research behind this phenomenon in this EduTip. ------------------- Thanks to Explore Learning for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips.

Transcribed - Published: 23 February 2025

When we make certain choices, often without even realizing it, we can turn a teaching moment from one that should be clear into one that's confusing. Luckily, these choices are pretty easy to spot and fix once we know what to look for, and cognitive science can help us understand what's going on. In this episode I'm going to talk about three of these with Blake Harvard, who writes the Effortful Educator blog and has just published a new book, Do I Have Your Attention? Understanding Memory Constraints and Maximizing Learning. Thanks to Boclips Classroom and Brisk Teaching for sponsoring this episode. To read a full transcript of this episode and get links to Blake's book, visit cultofpedagogy.com/cognitive-overload.

Transcribed - Published: 17 February 2025

In a classroom that is emotionally "cool," no one is preoccupied with any kind of anger, hurt feelings, anxiety, or fear, and this frees them up to concentrate on academics. One way to make that happen is by using neutral language: By choosing words that are less judgy and more neutral, we keep things professional, calm, and cool.  ------------------- Thanks to Explore Learning for sponsoring this EduTip! You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. ------------------

Transcribed - Published: 9 February 2025

As our understanding of the human mind gets more sophisticated and nuanced, we're learning how to identify neurodivergence, how to appreciate it, and how to help those who fit under that umbrella navigate the world better. In this episode I'm joined by Emily Kircher-Morris and Amanda Morin, authors of the new book Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools. The book offers all kinds of specific guidance that will help teachers reshape their classrooms into places that offer flexible options for students with a wide range of "wiring." In today's episode, they'll share four actionable changes you can make right now to begin that reshaping. Thanks to Boclips Classroom and Brisk Teaching for sponsoring this episode. To read a full transcript of this episode and get links to all the resources we talk about, visit cultofpedagogy.com/neurodiversity-affirming/.

Transcribed - Published: 3 February 2025

As you move through your career, you'll discover new ways of doing things that you're excited about — so excited that you want to share them with colleagues and convince them to try them, too. But trained professionals aren't always open to changing the way they work, and we don't want to come off as the know-it-all telling everyone what to do. So the most effective way to share a new idea is to talk about it in terms of "I." ------------------- Thanks to Grouper for sponsoring this EduTip! You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. ------------------  

Transcribed - Published: 26 January 2025

As you move through your career, you'll discover new ways of doing things that you're excited about — so excited that you want to share them with colleagues and convince them to try them, too. But trained professionals aren't always open to changing the way they work, and we don't want to come off as the know-it-all telling everyone what to do. So the most effective way to share a new idea is to talk about it in terms of "I." ------------------- Thanks to Grouper for sponsoring this EduTip! You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. ------------------  

Transcribed - Published: 26 January 2025

To become skilled readers, our students need reading instruction in all of their classes, not just English language arts. But if other subject-area teachers don't know how to support readers, how can they do this? In this episode, literacy expert Jen Serravallo walks us through the steps of a close reading lesson, one of nine re-usable lesson structures she offers in her new book, Teaching Reading Across the Day. By the time you're done with this episode, you'll be able to teach a close reading lesson yourself. Thanks to Wix Tomorrow and Brisk Teaching for sponsoring this episode. To read a transcript of this episode, links to Jen's book, and a video of Jen teaching a close reading lesson, visit cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 242.

Transcribed - Published: 20 January 2025

When student behavior starts driving you bananas, and you feel like you're going to yell, this simple notebook technique can regulate your nervous system and calm your class down fast. ------------------- Thanks to Grouper for sponsoring this EduTip! You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. -------------------

Transcribed - Published: 12 January 2025

It's our annual round-up of tools for educators, and this time along with it, we're announcing the launch of the online version of our Teacher's Guide to Tech! This year we're talking about three new AI tools, a platform for creating interactive lessons, a video editor, and a tool that makes text more accessible to everyone, plus a replacement for any teacher who really misses Flip! My lead technology specialist, Marnie Diem, joins me to talk about them. Thanks to Alpaca and Brisk Teaching for sponsoring this episode. To see videos of these tools in action, visit cultofpedagogy.com/6-ed-tech-tools-2025.

Transcribed - Published: 8 January 2025

It can happen to the best of us — classroom management deteriorating over time. Don't despair! By figuring out where the problems are, you can turn things back around. My guest is Claire English, who runs an incredible platform called The Unteachables, where she shows teachers how to manage their classrooms with confidence and calm. We talk about three reasons why classroom management can fall apart midway through a school year and what teachers can do to get things heading back in the right direction. Thanks to Scholastic Magazines+ and Alpaca for sponsoring this episode. For a full transcript of this episode, visit cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 240.  Learn more from Claire through her courses*, That'll Teach 'Em and The Low Level Behaviour Bootcamp. and her membership site, The Behaviour Club,.   *I am an affiliate of the Unteachables Academy. This means Cult of Pedagogy receives a commission on every purchase made through these links.

Transcribed - Published: 8 December 2024

Multitasking isn't great for our brains, it compromises our mental health, and ultimately it doesn't even work, but that doesn't stop many of us from trying to do it all the time. What we may not realize is that it also sneaks into our classrooms and interferes with learning, and it's happening in ways you may not even notice. In today's episode, I'm talking with cognitive scientist Megan Sumeracki about the pitfalls multitasking creates in schools, and what we can do to avoid them. -------------------------------------------- Thanks to The Gilder Lehrman Institute and Alpaca for sponsoring this episode. For a full transcript of this episode, visit cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 239.

Transcribed - Published: 25 November 2024

For many this week, the discomfort and pain of living side by side with people who see the world so differently from us has hit hard. But this is where we are right now, and we can either succumb to our current divide and let it get bigger, or keep trying to figure out how to close it. Though I didn't plan it this way, this week's podcast just happens to address one of the ways we might start to do that in our classrooms. I'm talking with Peter Johnston, author of Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children's Learning, about the prompts and phrases teachers can use to equip students not to avoid or be afraid of differences, but to approach them as opportunities to learn.  -------------------------------------------- Thanks to The Gilder Lehrman Institute and Listenwise for sponsoring this episode. For a full transcript of this episode, visit cultofpedagogy.com/democratic-classroom. 

Transcribed - Published: 10 November 2024

Books are one of the most powerful ways to learn about others and about ourselves. But for that learning to happen, we need a wide range of stories that represent a whole spectrum of people and lives. In many schools and classrooms, however, the offerings are far too narrow. Curating the kind of library that truly reflects the diversity of human experience takes time, intention, money, and good tools. This episode will help you make that happen. Joining me are three exceptional librarians — Cicely Lewis, Julia Torres, and Julie Stivers — who share their advice for building more inclusive collections. They also recommend a handful of outstanding titles to add to your shelves. Thanks to Scholastic Magazines+ and Alpaca for sponsoring this episode. For a full transcript of this episode, visit cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 237. 

Transcribed - Published: 27 October 2024

Any time we teach our students something, we need to check to see how well they learned it. If we only do this check at the very end, after all the teaching is done, and we find that our students haven't learned the material, it's too late to do anything about it. That's why we really need to do formative assessment — checking along the way — so if there are problems, we can fix them. In this episode, we're talking about five important things we need to do to make sure we get formative assessment right. Joining me are two people who really understand what works in education: The Marshall Memo's master curator Kim Marshall, and Jenn David-Lang, the mind behind The Main Idea. Together they have published the Best of the Marshall Memo website, a fantastic, free collection of the best ideas in education. Thanks to Scholastic Magazines+ and Listenwise for sponsoring this episode. For a full transcript of this episode, visit cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 236. 

Transcribed - Published: 14 October 2024

If our students are going to thrive, they all need to feel safe, accepted, and loved while under our care. This week, we're focusing on what that looks like when it comes to gender-expansive students — kids whose gender expression or identity is different from what they were assigned at birth. For these students, creating a school that feels safe and accepting isn't simply a matter of being nice to them; there are some specific do's and don'ts that can make a huge difference in how they experience school. My guest is Dave Edwards, an educator who teaches these principles through his website, Gender Inclusive Schools, and his brand-new book of the same name. As the parent of a transgender daughter who has experienced discrimination, Dave's mission is a personal one. In this episode, he shares specific things schools can do to proactively create safe learning environments for these students. Thanks to The Wired Classroom and Listenwise for sponsoring this episode. For links to Dave's book and a full transcript of our conversation, visit cultofpedagogy.com/gender-inclusive-school.

Transcribed - Published: 29 September 2024

Students learn better when movement is included in a lesson. In this episode, theater educator Jocelyn Greene teaches us four fun improv games that can work in most classrooms to get students actively engaged and make the learning really stick. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Thanks to EVERFI and The Wired Classroom for sponsoring this episode. To watch videos of all four games, visit cultofpedagogy.com/theater-games.

Transcribed - Published: 15 September 2024

Teaching is intense, vulnerable work that brings up a range of emotions all day, every day. If we really want to help teachers thrive, we need to go beyond the technical parts of the job and look at how our core human needs show up in this work. In this episode, author and instructional coach Elena Aguilar joins me to explore what it looks like when a teacher's needs for belonging, autonomy, competence, self-esteem, trust, and purpose are not being met, and what can be done to address that. Thanks to EVERFI and Listenwise for sponsoring this episode. For links to Elena's book, Arise: The Art of Transformational Coaching, visit cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 233.

Transcribed - Published: 3 September 2024

The act of thinking about our own thinking, or metacognition, plays a huge role in how well our brain holds on to information. If we can get a better understanding of how metacognition works, we can tap into it to improve our learning and teach our students to do the same. In this episode, cognitive scientist Megan Sumeracki explains how we can make that happen. Thanks to EVERFI and The Wired Classroom for sponsoring this episode. For links to Megan's book, Ace That Test, visit cultofpedagogy.com/metacognition.

Transcribed - Published: 18 August 2024

All students can benefit from learning and practicing executive functions, the skills we use to control our attention, keep ourselves organized, initiate tasks, and manage time. But where do we find the time to teach them? In this episode, educator and author Mitch Weathers shares his proven 5-step system for integrating executive functions into regular class time without taking away from the regular lesson. Thanks to EVERFI and The Wired Classroom for sponsoring this episode. For links to Mitch's book, visit cultofpedagogy.com/executive-functions

Transcribed - Published: 4 August 2024

The podcast is on a break this summer because I'm working on a big project. I thought I'd take a few minutes and tell you a little bit about it. More on the project here. Be back soon!!

Transcribed - Published: 1 July 2024

When teachers and students feel heard, the climate of a school just gets better, and semantic pulse surveys can make that happen. In this episode, we'll learn what about this fresh approach to surveying and how teachers and administrators can create their own to gain better insights about the students and teachers they serve. This episode is sponsored by Alpaca. School leaders can get 15% off a year of Alpaca's pulse surveys — visit alpacapacks.com/pedagogy to learn more. To read the post, visit cultofpedagogy.com/semantic-pulse-surveys

Transcribed - Published: 9 June 2024

You can never have too many ideas for helping struggling students, right? In this episode, you'll get a few more that you may not have tried. My guests are two teachers — learning specialist Sarah Riggs Johnson and math teacher Nate Wolkenhauer — who share their system of strategies that help all students learn better, a kind of pyramid where the ones at the bottom apply to all students, the middle layers are used with a smaller group, and at the top are strategies that are only needed for a few students. If you teach math or special ed, this one is a must, but even if you don't, you're going to come away with some new ideas for how to help students who struggle — even if they don't have an identified learning disability. Thanks to Scholastic Magazines+ and Studyo for sponsoring this episode. To read Nate and Sarah's post, visit cultofpedagogy.com/tiered-learning-supports

Transcribed - Published: 30 May 2024

The rights of parents to choose the best school for their children — also known as school choice — may seem simple on the surface, but it's anything but, and it has the potential to impact teachers and students all over the country. In this episode, I talk with Cara Fitzpatrick, author of The Death of Public School: How Conservatives Won the War Over Education in America. We discuss why school choice is actually pretty complicated, we dig into some of the key groups that have historically pushed for it, and we explore some things concerned citizens can do to ensure that families can still get their children the best education possible. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to WeVideo and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To read a transcript and get a link to Cara's book, visit cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 228.

Transcribed - Published: 12 May 2024

Annotation can be a powerful way to improve comprehension and increase engagement, but its effectiveness can vary depending on how it's taught. In this episode, two teachers share their classroom-tested approaches to teaching students how to effectively annotate texts: 3rd grade teacher Andrea Castellano and high school English teacher Irene Yannascoli. Thanks to Listenwise and Studyo for sponsoring this episode. To read a full transcript of this conversation, visit cultofpedagogy.com/art-of-annotation/.

Transcribed - Published: 28 April 2024

If your school is lucky enough to have a full-time certified librarian, it's likely they are not being utilized to their full capacity. In fact, yours may be one of a growing number of schools that are eliminating librarians altogether, and that is a terrible idea. In this episode, I sit down with four accomplished librarians — K.C. Boyd, Barbara Paciotti, Lauren Mobley, and Karina Quilantan-Garza — to explore all the ways a certified school librarian can make teachers' work easier, more efficient, and more effective, and to make a strong case for why every school needs one. Thanks to WeVideo and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode. To read a full transcript of this conversation, visit cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 226.

Transcribed - Published: 14 April 2024

Many states are seeing record high numbers of teacher turnovers and vacancies. While the problems that caused this shortage have not gone away, there are groups of people who are coming up with some creative ways to address this situation, new and surprisingly affordable pathways for training good, enthusiastic teachers. Two of these programs are Oxford Teachers College at Reach University and Educators Rising. In this episode, educator Kimberly Eckert talks with me about how and why both of these outstanding programs work. Thanks to Edge•U Badges and EVERFI for sponsoring this episode. To read a full transcript of our conversation and find links to all the resources mentioned in this episode, visit cultofpedagogy.com/teacher-shortage.

Transcribed - Published: 2 April 2024

Crying in front of your students can be a humiliating experience. Not the kind that happens when you're moved to tears by a poignant story or you react to upsetting news; those moments can actually bond you to your students. It’s the kind that comes from frustration, shame, anger, or loss of control. It might be something you experience as a new teacher, but it can also happen well into your career. Regardless, if it happens to you, it can shake you up. In this episode, I share a few thoughts that might help. Thanks to Edge•U Badges and EVERFI for sponsoring this episode. To read a written version of this episode and find links to all the resources I mention, go to cultofpedagogy.com/crying-in-class.

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2024

It's happened to so many teachers: You teach your heart out. Really just knock it out of the park. Then you ask a question all students should know the answer to … and nothing. What's going on? In this episode, educator and writer Blake Harvard offers four possible explanations for why we get the blank stare, along with four solutions that will help us see a lot less of it. Thanks to Edge•U Badges and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode. To read Blake's article, go cultofpedagogy.com/stare.

Transcribed - Published: 3 March 2024

As our student population grows ever more diverse, many schools haven't been quite as successful as they'd like to be when trying to connect with students' families. If current efforts aren't working, it's time we tried a different approach. In this episode I talk with Nawal Qarooni, author of the new book Nourishing Caregiver Collaborations about the specific approaches teachers can take to more authentically involve families in their children's education Thanks to Listenwise and Khan Academy Kids for sponsoring this episode. For links to Nawal's book and a transcript of this conversation, go to https://cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 222.

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2024

When high school English teacher Dan Tricarico started taking photos of his colleagues, he didn't expect them to create new bonds among his staff. Teachers rarely get an opportunity to have their humanity and uniqueness showcased in this way, but these beautiful portraits do just that — and anyone with a smartphone can do the same thing for the teachers at their school. Thanks to WeVideo and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode. To view the full portrait gallery go to https://cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 221.

Transcribed - Published: 4 February 2024

Standardized testing has, without a doubt, created a lot of problems in education, and far too often, our conversations about these problems end in statements like "we need to just get rid of them all" or "Oh well, nothing we can do to change things." In this episode, education researcher Jenn Binis joins me to talk about a different approach to solving the problems around standardized testing: moving away from all-or-nothing thinking and towards the idea of reducing harm. Jenn offers 5 specific strategies educators can take to make things better. Thanks to NoRedInk and Edge•U Badges for sponsoring this episode. Read Jenn's full blog post by going to cultofpedagogy.com/standardized-tests-what-to-do

Transcribed - Published: 21 January 2024

It's a brand-new year, and to celebrate the launch of the 10th edition of our Teacher's Guide to Tech, we're exploring 8 tech tools that are worth a look in 2024. I'm joined by my team of ed tech geniuses — Brandie Wright, Lucia Hassell, Kim Darche, and Marnie Diem — to talk about a collection of tools that can make your teaching richer, more efficient, and more satisfying. Enjoy! Thanks to WeVideo and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode. Check out the 2024 Teacher's Guide to Tech at https://teachersguideotech.com.

Transcribed - Published: 10 January 2024

As a teacher, you probably find yourself in situations pretty often where you're made aware of a student having needs or challenges that exceed what your school typically offers them. The list of student needs in so many schools is never-ending, and your desire to help meet them is probably pretty strong, too. But attempting to meet these needs on your own — to become a kind of "savior" to your students — can not only lead to burnout for you, it's also not ultimately that helpful to the student long-term. In this episode Alex Shevrin Venet, author of the book Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education, returns to talk about the danger of getting into a savior mentality when helping our students, how to tell if you're slipping into that kind of thinking, and how to shift toward healthier and more helpful ways of thinking about and approaching student needs. Thanks to NoRedInk and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode. You can find links to Alex's book and a full transcript of our conversation at cultofpedagogy.com/savior-mentality/.

Transcribed - Published: 10 December 2023

Our classrooms have the potential to be spaces where we learn how to have conversations about challenging topics with respect, curiosity, and kindness. Contrary to the voices that say race is not an appropriate topic for school, in this episode we're saying just the opposite. My guests are Matthew Kay, author of the book, Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom, and Jennifer Orr, Kay's co-author of the follow-up book, We're Gonna Keep On Talking: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Elementary Classroom. I talked with Matt and Jen about the value of discussion as a teaching tool, the elements that are necessary for creating a healthy ecosystem for race conversations, some strategies for having these conversations in organic and authentic ways, and a message for teachers working in states that are hostile to conversations about race. Thanks to NoRedInk and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode. You can find links to both books and a full transcript of our conversation at cultofpedagogy.com/pod/.

Transcribed - Published: 12 November 2023